Protective garment.



H. M. GREENE.

PROTECTIVE GARMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.16. 1916. RENEWED MAR. 7. 191a.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918..

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

H. M. GREENE.

' PROTECTIVE GARMENT. APPLTCATTON FILED MAR. 16, 19T6- RENEWED MAR. 7.1918.

2'SHEETSSHEET 2.

I IIRAM M. GREENE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PROTECTIVE GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

Application filed March 16, 1916, Serial No.'84,508. Renewed March 7, 1918; Serial No. 221,096.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM M. GREENE, a

tection to the vital organs and will, at the same time be light, desirable and neat in appearance, will fit well, be comfortable and insure freedom of movement of the armsand body and cannot be readily torn or injured in use.

The garment is preferably made of a composite material and comprises a back or back portion which covers the back of the wearer, flaps which extend from the back portion over the shoulders and downwardly covering the chest and abdomen, and side flaps which extend forwardly from the opposite sides of the back portion under the arms and are adapted to be fastened outside of the front flaps, said side flaps protecting the sides of the body below the arms. A suitable composite material consists of a light fabric, such for example as flannelette lined with paper, the paper affording the necessary protection and the outer textile material, which can be made in colors printed or otherwise made to resemble fabrics such as ordinarily used in the manufacture of wearing apparel, reinforcing the paper and giving the garment a neat and desirable exterior appearance.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a garment embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the garment opened out, showing the shape in which the material is cut to form the garment.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof in line 3-45, Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is an inside view of a portion of the garment, a portion of the paper lining being broken away.

A represents the back or back portion of the garment, B B the front flaps thereof and C C the side flaps.

The back A is of suitable shape and size to cover the back of the wearer from the base of the neck downward about to the waist, and the front flaps B B are connected to the upper end of the back A at the opposite sides of its middle by narrower shoulder portions 7) which are adapted to pass over and rest upon the shoulders of the wearer to support the garment in place on the body. The material of which the garment is made, which is preferably of the composite character hereinafter described, is cut in substantially the shape shown in Fig. 2 to form the several portions of the garment, the front flaps diverging from each other and the upper portions thereof and the shoulder portions being appropriately shaped to form a neck opening D between them and adapt the garment to fit smoothly around the neck and over the shoulders of the wearer with the front flaps overlapping over the chest and abdomen, as shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the flaps B consist of separate pieces secured alongthe lines 6 to the back A, as the garment can be cut in this way with less waste-of material, but the garment could, if desired, be cut from a single continuous piece of material and it would have the sameshape and fit in the same manner. 6 indicates a plait extending upwardly in the middle of the back from the lower edge thereof and decreasing in width until it merges into the plain upper portion of the back. The plait makes a better fitting garment and prevents the back from being strained or ruptured. The side flaps C C are wide enough to extend from the lower end portion of the back upwardly to a point just beneath the arm pits, thus providing substantial coverings and protectionfor the sides of the body, and the flaps are long enough to meet and preferably to overlap,

and be fastened together over the abdomen outside of the front flaps B.

The garment may be secured on the person by fastenings of any suitable sort. Preferably the side fiaps'are provided at their ends with snap fasteners E adapted to secure them together in front of or outside of the front flaps, a plurality of fasteners being shown, located at different distances from the ends of the flaps to enable the flaps to be overlapped more or less and secured.

as may be necessary to adapt a garment to fit different persons. As the side flaps are fastened together outside of the front flaps,

nected below the arms andv great freedom of movement is thus allowed, the side flaps," nevertheless, adequately cover and protect the sides. They also afford a double protection' for the abdomen. While the garment can be made as shown in Fig. 2 or cut from a continuous seamless fiat piece of material, it conforms well to the shape of the wearer and'covers and protects the sides as well as the back, chest and abdomen.

The composite material which is prefer-' ably used in making the garment consists of an outer ply F of suitable fabric or textile material, such for instance as flannelette, and a lining or inner ply G of paper, which is secured throughout to the inner surface of the exterior fabric by a suitable cement, preferably a water-proof cement, adapted to prevent moisture from penetrating through the garment. The edges of the composite material after being cut to form are prefe Copies of this patent may be obtained for .erably strengthened and protected by a suitable bindingH which is stitched to the edges of the garment. The material thus made, in

addition to being impervious to wind and cold, is practically waterproof and the garment can be exposed to rain or moisture for a long period of time before the moisture will penetrate through the material.

N0 claim is made in this application to the composite'material of which the garment is made, the same forming the subject matter of a separate application.

I claim as my -invention:

A garment composed of a substantially flatpiece of paper lined fabric and comprising a back adapted to cover the back of the wearer shoulder portions which extend from the upper end of said back over the shoulders and are separated by a neck opening, two front flapswhich depend from said shoulder portions in front of the chest, and side flaps which extend from the opposite sides of said back and are adapted to pass forwardly under the arms above the lower edges of said front flaps and protect the sides of the wearer, and means for fastening the side flaps together outside of the front flaps and independently thereof and at a considerable distance above the lower edges thereof, said side flaps being movable relative to the front flaps when the garment is secured on the wearer.

Witness my hand this 11th day of March,

HIE-AM M. GREENE. Witnesses M. J. PITMAN, C. W. PARKER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

